For a UFC non-title fight, Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz is as big as it gets. This UFC 183 extended trailer doesn’t contain much in the way of trash-talk or snappy soundbites, but it’s a nice reminder that, holy crap, this fight is actually happening at the end of the month. The video also does a good job of giving importance to the UFC 183 co-main event of Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tyron Woodley — the young rookie with a heart of iron vs. the dynamic veteran who’s truly scary when he’s firing on all cylinders.
Speaking of Gastelum and Woodley, the UFC has released videos of their most recent dominant wins, which you can watch after the jump. Enjoy…
For a UFC non-title fight, Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz is as big as it gets. This UFC 183 extended trailer doesn’t contain much in the way of trash-talk or snappy soundbites, but it’s a nice reminder that, holy crap, this fight is actually happening at the end of the month. The video also does a good job of giving importance to the UFC 183 co-main event of Kelvin Gastelum vs. Tyron Woodley — the young rookie with a heart of iron vs. the dynamic veteran who’s truly scary when he’s firing on all cylinders.
Speaking of Gastelum and Woodley, the UFC has released videos of their most recent dominant wins, which you can watch after the jump. Enjoy…
As anyone who appeared on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter could surely tell you, Anderson Silva can be a bit of an arrogant prick while training. It’s not that he means to be, but when you’re one of the baddest dudes on this or any other planet, you almost have to show off every now and again, right? Lord knows that if I possessed the fighting skills of Anderson, I’d be walking into every Buffalo Wild Wings on the eastern seaboard with a “Come at Me, Bro” t-shirt on, just waiting for some roided-up Jersey trash to challenge my authority.
Less than a month out from his hotly-anticipated return to the octagon against Nick Diaz at UFC 183, it appears that Silva felt it necessary to remind one of his training partners of this exact factn. It’s the only explanation I can think of as to why Silva would not only KO the poor bastard (who was wearing full headgear, BTW) during a sparring session, but continue pummeling him for a good ten seconds after doing so. Seriously, what the hell, Anderson?
The footage was filmed by Globo and posted by Guilherme Cruz earlier today. My theory: The guy he was sparring with made an off-the-cuff remark about the Silva family barbecue just moments before this video started rolling.
As anyone who appeared on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter could surely tell you, Anderson Silva can be a bit of an arrogant prick while training. It’s not that he means to be, but when you’re one of the baddest dudes on this or any other planet, you almost have to show off every now and again, right? Lord knows that if I possessed the fighting skills of Anderson, I’d be walking into every Buffalo Wild Wings on the eastern seaboard with a “Come at Me, Bro” t-shirt on, just waiting for some roided-up Jersey trash to challenge my authority.
Less than a month out from his hotly-anticipated return to the octagon against Nick Diaz at UFC 183, it appears that Silva felt it necessary to remind one of his training partners of this exact factn. It’s the only explanation I can think of as to why Silva would not only KO the poor bastard (who was wearing full headgear, BTW) during a sparring session, but continue pummeling him for a good ten seconds after doing so. Seriously, what the hell, Anderson?
The footage was filmed by Globo and posted by Guilherme Cruz earlier today. My theory: The guy he was sparring with made an off-the-cuff remark about the Silva family barbecue just moments before this video started rolling.
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is three weeks away from his fun little circus-fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183, and if he wins, the UFC will give the Spider another chance to get his middleweight title back. UFC president Dana White revealed the plan last night on FOX Sports 1’s UFC Tonight:
“Diaz and Anderson Silva are fighting, and obviously if Anderson Silva wins that fight, and whether Vitor or Weidman win, then you have Anderson Silva versus either one of those guys,” White said.
“Obviously” is not the word I would have used here. For one thing, beating a semi-retired welterweight in a tune-up fight shouldn’t clinch anybody a middleweight title shot, even Anderson Silva. And also, what if Chris Weidman beats Vitor Belfort at UFC 184 next month (a likely scenario now that Belfort is totally off his meds)? Is anybody clamoring for a third fight between Silva and Weidman, outside of the Spider Superfans who remain convinced that the knockout and the broken leg were both “flukes”?
Keep in mind that middleweight contenders Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero — both of whom are still undefeated in the UFC — will be sluggin’ it out at UFC 184. Anderson Silva may be an “obvious” money-maker, but shouldn’t the Jacare/Romero winner be the rightful owner of the next middleweight title shot?
Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva is three weeks away from his fun little circus-fight against Nick Diaz at UFC 183, and if he wins, the UFC will give the Spider another chance to get his middleweight title back. UFC president Dana White revealed the plan last night on FOX Sports 1’s UFC Tonight:
“Diaz and Anderson Silva are fighting, and obviously if Anderson Silva wins that fight, and whether Vitor or Weidman win, then you have Anderson Silva versus either one of those guys,” White said.
“Obviously” is not the word I would have used here. For one thing, beating a semi-retired welterweight in a tune-up fight shouldn’t clinch anybody a middleweight title shot, even Anderson Silva. And also, what if Chris Weidman beats Vitor Belfort at UFC 184 next month (a likely scenario now that Belfort is totally off his meds)? Is anybody clamoring for a third fight between Silva and Weidman, outside of the Spider Superfans who remain convinced that the knockout and the broken leg were both “flukes”?
Keep in mind that middleweight contenders Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and Yoel Romero — both of whom are still undefeated in the UFC — will be sluggin’ it out at UFC 184. Anderson Silva may be an “obvious” money-maker, but shouldn’t the Jacare/Romero winner be the rightful owner of the next middleweight title shot?
As it turns out, former pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva could get his hands on the middleweight champion sooner than many of us anticipated.
The former middleweight champion is only one victory away from standing across the Octagon from the 185-pou…
As it turns out, former pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva could get his hands on the middleweight champion sooner than many of us anticipated.
The former middleweight champion is only one victory away from standing across the Octagon from the 185-pound titleholder, UFC President Dana White said in an interview conducted on Fox Sports 1’s UFC Tonight (via MMAJunkie.com).
“(Nick) Diaz and Anderson Silva are fighting, and obviously if Anderson Silva wins that fight, and whether Vitor (Belfort) or (Chris) Weidman win, then you have Anderson Silva versus either one of those guys,” White said.
Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily “guarantee” Silva a shot at the belt (just ask Rory MacDonald and the laundry list of fighters who lost their promised title shots), particularly because the middleweight division is currently holstering several title contenders who currently author winning streaks that put Silva’s two-fight losing streak to shame.
But also keep in mind that this isn’t as similar to MacDonald’s case as we all think it may be. Like ConorMcGregor is to Jose Aldo, Johny Hendricks is to Robbie Lawler and Daniel Cormier was to Jon Jones, Silva is the hottest ticket in town for the middleweight champion.
Because as plausible as it may be to see Silva return to his former glory and wreak havoc upon the upper echelon of UFC middleweights, White and Co. need to recognize that their former champion is returning to the cage as a 39-year-old legend. He could come in and do what most of us expect him to do against a game, but undersized, Diaz. But what then?
They need to cash in on Silva while he’s hot—like now.
“It’s a very interesting fight,” White said. “After the injury that Anderson Silva had, where is he going to be mentally? I think physically he’s a guy that does the right things, works hard. He’s been working since the injury happened. He’s definitely going to be in shape.”
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University’s student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
UFC 182 is in the books, and while it was a less-than-stellar event in a lot of ways, MMA fans would be hard-pressed not to get stoked about the promotion’s next UFC pay-per-view, UFC 183 on January 31. Headlined by the tantalizing almost sup…
UFC 182 is in the books, and while it was a less-than-stellar event in a lot of ways, MMA fans would be hard-pressed not to get stoked about the promotion’s next UFC pay-per-view, UFC 183 on January 31. Headlined by the tantalizing almost superfight between former middleweight champion Anderson Silva and former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz and backed up by multiple title-relevant tilts and sure-to-be-exciting matches, UFC 183 offers a great deal to be excited for.
You can see the full card here:
Main Card
Anderson Silva vs. Nick Diaz
Tyron Woodley vs. Kelvin Gastelum
Miesha Tate vs. Sara McMann
Joe Lauzon vs. Al Iaquinta
Thales Leites vs. Tim Boetsch
Preliminary Card
Thiago Santos vs. Andy Enz
Jordan Mein vs. Thiago Alves
Richardson Moreira vs. Ildemar Alcantara
Diego Brandao vs. Jimy Hettes
Rafael Natal vs. Tom Watson
Ian McCall vs. John Lineker
Ed Herman vs. Derek Brunson
So what can you look forward to on the main card? What is the early outlook for each bout? Read on and find out!
MMA Kingpin is a funny responsibility. It’s an entirely fictional position, sure. But it’s one with no small level of import. Filled by a single fighter at a time, it’s the man with the combination of accomplishment, skill and pure swagger that ma…
MMA Kingpin is a funny responsibility. It’s an entirely fictional position, sure. But it’s one with no small level of import. Filled by a single fighter at a time, it’s the man with the combination of accomplishment, skill and pure swagger that makes him, unmistakably, the sport’s top dog.
For most established sports that’s not a big deal—baseball is still baseball, no matter how classy Derek Jeter is or whether YasielPuig is hustling enough on the way to first base.
But for MMA, a sport still being introduced worldwide, the man on the throne makes a big difference. It means, like it or not, the Kingpin sets the tone for what mixed martial arts is and what it might be. He represents all of us and our sport.
After Saturday night’s humbling of Daniel Cormier at UFC 182, Jon Jones sits alone at the pinnacle—but it’s a seat still warm from the seven years Anderson Silva reigned with such grace and impish vitality, a strange combination, but one he pulled off with style.
You remember Silva, right?
For six long years, he was the sport’s top middleweight, the kind of fighter who didn’t just beat his challengers—he dismissed them, with a disdain fans alternately found off-putting or thrilling. But no matter where you fell on that spectrum, at some point, not even his biggest critics could deny that, whatever you thought of his sportsmanship, Silva was a special talent.
That Silva is no longer with us, a casualty of age, injury and the humbling fists of new middleweight stalwart Chris Weidman. Who exists in that same set of skin and bones, wearing an Anderson Silva suit? It’s a question worth considering.
It’s never clear how a great athlete will choose to face his physical mortality, how he’ll respond to signs he’s no longer the man he once was. For Silva’s contemporary Kobe Bryant, the answer was simple—though diminished, he brings the same drive and power of will to the court nightly—despite shrinking returns.
Pete Sampras, the tennis great, chose another path. He walked away, not at his absolute peak, but when he was still more than capable of competing with the best. Following his 2002 U.S. Open win over Andre Agassi, he never laced them up again. The idea of not being the best was too much for him to process.
Like Sampras, Siva’s been great enough long enough that the idea of him walking away after consecutive losses doesn’t feel right. He needs to prove that he’s still got it—to his fans and to himself. Only then could he leave with his head held high.
That’s what makes Nick Diaz such a great opponent for the once-great Spider. Diaz, for all his beautiful boasts and despite his fan-friendly style, is a man born for Anderson Silva to clown.
Undersized and outgunned, it’s unclear exactly what kind of threat he poses. He can’t knock Silva out. Nor can he take him to the mat without a full-fledged miracle. That leaves constant attack, five rounds of attacking the lion, hoping the old man doesn’t have the energy to take a swipe at you anymore.
What Diaz presents is opportunity. It’s a chance for Silva to regain his swagger against an opponent with a name and little more. Only then can the once-great man walk away into immortality—where he belongs
